It's funny how perception changes...you could look at Calgary's five game road trip and say they lost four of five games, or you could look more recently and see two wins in three games. Regardless, the Flames took a 3-0 win Monday night over the Minnesota Wild as Miikka Kiprusoff made 32 saves to post his 37th career shutout.

What Happened

Overall, it was a pretty lackluster opening twenty minutes, as neither team really did much...Kent had scoring chances 7-5 in favor of the Wild and they did generate a few quality ones, but for the most part, not a whole lot happened and things were scoreless after one.

The second period was different, as the Flames really came to play and things went the opposite way for the Wild, as the visitors really dropped off. Calgary's opening ten minutes were very strong and they scored twice as a result, starting at 3:08 when Jarome Iginla fed Jay Bouwmeester on a nice backhand pass; JBo potted his third of the season to make it 1-0. Iginla would be in on it again, this time the recipient of an Alex Tanguay pass at the side of the net; Iginla would score his tenth 16 seconds after the opening tally and the Flames would carry a two goal lead into the third period. Minnesota would hammer out a few more chances before the second period would end, but were unable to beat Kiprusoff, who was very strong.

It was only the seventh time time this season the Flames would carry a lead into the final period, and they'd close this one out. Shots would finish 13-10 in favor of the Wild, but impressively, Calgary would only allow seven chances against. It's impressive, as Kent points out, because Minnesota was chasing and the Flames did a nice job of protecting. Niklas Hagman would ice this thing at 18:31 with his seventh on the powerplay to take us to our final score.

One Good Reason...

...why the Flames won? Hey, they converted when they needed to. Miikka Kiprusoff did a nice job making a few huge saves on some Minnesota ten bell chances, but I don't believe he stole this game or anything like that. Overall, the Flames were a bit better, especially after scoring those two goals in 16 seconds; from then on, the Wild didn't have much sustained, even with a few quality chances. Calgary scored twice in the second, protected well in the third and ice this game late...kind of a normal win. They could use a few more of those variety of wins.

Red Warrior

I really liked the captain tonight. 6-1 was the chance count when he was on the ice at even strength, and the top line overall had some really strong spans. From the second period on, I felt Iginla was particularly dominant, seemingly creating things on every 5-on-5 shift. He's been very good the last eight games or so, and once again was a driving force in this game.

Sum It Up

Was it dominant? Nope. Did it do the trick? It sure did...and hey, that's all that matters. The Flames beat a team in front of them in the standings, and a team they're going to need to beat overall; quite frankly, it's a team they should beat. Calgary plays Minnesota three more times in the next ten games.

Pat Steinberg can be heard daily on the Fan960 in Calgary at can be read at the FAN 960. Born and raised in Calgary, Steinberg considers himself a huge fan of all sports including the CFL, MMA and 13 round bare knuckle boxing matches. Follow Steinberg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg.

Great game by our two highest-paid players. Bouwmeester has already equaled his goal total from all of last year. Although I believed some people were unjustly hard on him last year, he has been becoming incrementally stronger as the season progresses at both ends of the ice.

Iggy, as everybody has already pointed out, has been on fire lately.

Still, I believe that if the Flames are more than 6 points out of a playoff spot by the end of January, it's time to start trading some core pieces, beginning with Iggy and Regher. If they can;t succeed with the roster they have this year, there's definitely no way they can win when Kipper, Iggy, and Regher become increasingly subject to the vagaries of aging.

Also, I must concur with Kent and others who have pointed out the mediocre performances by Borque lately. If memory serves correct, he hasn't been the same since getting hit by Abdelkator (is that how you spell his name?) in Detroit.

I believe he was the same guy that evinced a desire to fight Iggy during the game, but conveniently waited for the refs to intervene before he decided to unstrap his helmet.

I think our criticisms of JBo last year were entirely justified - 7 million for a dman is for offence and defence, not just defence (no matter how good). So far this year he's gone a long way toward earning his salary, though.

I don't know if I'll ever think he's completely fair value, but at the very least he can convince me that he was only overpaid by a few hundred thousand instead of one million plus.

I really like the way that Bouwmeester has been playing the last half dozen games or so. He is starting to round into the defenceman I thought the Flames were getting. Of course, I have no doubt that this is largely due to playing with Reggie. This pairing is top notch on its own, but also turns Gio into one of the better 3rd D-men in the league, IMO.

Nice to see Iggy get rewarded with a goal, I think he has been the best player for the Flames over the last dozen games. Now if they can get Bourque back on track. I thought Backlund looked really good tonight, even Olli on the wing looked good for stretches. He was strong on the forcheck, and created some chances.

Two questions: is there any chance that Backlund gets demoted to Abbotsford when Kotalik returns? Or is his play now consistently NHL calibre? And is there a chance that Karlsson gets a start in Minny on Friday? Looking ahead at the schedule, that might be the most logical spot to slot him in, in the near future. Unless Kipper plays another 15 games in a row.

strong game by jbo, well folks if he is considered to be an elite dman in this league, he needs to bring it everynight. elite players are just that elite, not average with flashes of excellence. the offensive numbers while in florida are misleading. a fire hydrant could have excelled in that division. backlund has not impressed looks like a third line type, not a first rounder. perhaps its the defense first approach sutter has rammed down his throat.as for gio, is there an award for the player who must endure playing with a flat tire like sarich.

1. Iggy and Tanguay were spot-on. Stajan was harmless, but doesn't fit. If they had a big, mobile centre... that'd be some first line.

2. Not sure why this made such an impact on me, but Kostopolous looks a lot smaller in person than on the tube. He's a grinder.

3. Morrison had some bad passes. Seemed flat.

4. Bourque did look particularly poor. He hurt that line.

5. The experiment of Jokinen/Backlund/Hagman may work. But Backlund will never score more than 10-12 goals at this level. He's not much more than Boyd was, and looks smallish in traffic. Still, Backlund had a decent evening. Agreed. And Joker hustled. Kotalik would be a nice fit with Jokinen and Hagman.

6. Regehr was strong. Played mad. May have not looked so on television but from Section 201, he looked very good. Ditto Bouwmeester. Gio. Sarich.

7. Babchuk looks lost. He doesn't fit in. He and Mikkelson are a weak pair. Babchuk, in particular, has no physical side to his game. I don't think he'll be a Flame long-term. A journeyman NHLer, at best. KHL may be a good home for Babchuck. We shall see.

8. Kipper is Kipper.

Overall, it was a dull first period, and not a real exciting game. The crowd was particularly dead through most of the first. As for trading Iggy, I now think this idea a crazy one. Ditto trading Regehr. They are not the problem.

faced yet another backup goalie.bourque is the streekiest player in the league next to raffi torres, but raffi crushes opponents with physical play.rene is not worth the contract he signed and a couple of 25 plus goal seasons doesnt qualify him as a power forward. he plays a soft game on the outside looking shot first.mats stajan is the throwback to the soft euro from the seventies,looks like an assistant captain on a high school debating team more than a first line center.

strong game by jbo, well folks if he is considered to be an elite dman in this league, he needs to bring it everynight. elite players are just that elite, not average with flashes of excellence. the offensive numbers while in florida are misleading. a fire hydrant could have excelled in that division. backlund has not impressed looks like a third line type, not a first rounder. perhaps its the defense first approach sutter has rammed down his throat.as for gio, is there an award for the player who must endure playing with a flat tire like sarich.

I'm not sure what Backlund has to do to impress you but he's been really solid for his level of development. He was never going to be a franchise player but he's going to be a solid 2nd line center. Possibly 1st line, should things go right for him. He's one of the bright spots I think, and last night he played well.

a first rounder at 21 years old must be contributing to the offense,backlund does not meet this requirement. if you draft a center his primary role is to contribute to goal production. second thru fourth line centers can be obtained through free agency. a first line offensive leader is drafted with that mission,to score. playing third line minutes and then getting rewarded with icetime when the outcome has been determined can schew the boxscore.he should be an impact player.

a first rounder at 21 years old must be contributing to the offense,backlund does not meet this requirement. if you draft a center his primary role is to contribute to goal production. second thru fourth line centers can be obtained through free agency. a first line offensive leader is drafted with that mission,to score. playing third line minutes and then getting rewarded with icetime when the outcome has been determined can schew the boxscore.he should be an impact player.

LOL

It's not like he was drafted 1st overall. He was drafted 24th overall. If you're looking for a gamebreaker you're kind of in a crap shoot at that late of a pick unless the draft is VERY deep.

...I didn't pose the question that Backlund might get sent down because I think he is playing poorly. It's simply a numbers game with Kotalik coming back. Backlund would definately get more ice-time in the AHL as well.

Tanguay Stajan Iginla

Hagman Jokinen Kotalik

Glencross Moss Borque

Kostopolus Morrison Jackman

...I would like to see Morrison get some more playing time. If not ES, for sure on the PP.

For a 24th pick with 48 games and 15 pts and a +10 playing a two way game on a piece of shit team, he's fine. He's arguably the 5th-7th best forward in the top 25 out of 14 guys ahead of him and Patrick White behind him.

Angelo Esposito has yet to play a game and people are busting on Backlund?

WTF. Next time anyone says "Trade everyone for picks", use your f*king head first.

For a 24th pick with 48 games and 15 pts and a +10 playing a two way game on a piece of shit team, he's fine. He's arguably the 5th-7th best forward in the top 25 out of 14 guys ahead of him and Patrick White behind him.

Angelo Esposito has yet to play a game and people are busting on Backlund?

WTF. Next time anyone says "Trade everyone for picks", use your f*king head first.

Who is busting Backlund's balls? It comes down to a numbers game. If any of the forwards were going down Backlund probably makes sense based on contract and age. I really liked his game lately, especially vs. the Wild I thought he was making good reads and was strong with the puck. I wouldn't mind seeing Morrison take a seat. I haven't thought that his game has been really sharp lately. He has definitely cooled since the start of the year and he's not that big of a contract to have sitting in the press box. He was giving the puck away a ton in the Minny game, it seemed like every pass he made was batted down or intercepted.

...I'm with you on most of what you wrote Lawrence. Especially the last line of your reply (kind of harsh though ;), but I none the less agree). Don't you think that Backlund would develop nearly as well playing 1st line minutes (including PP) in the AHL? I mean were not talking about a young player who is putting up huge offensive numbers. Playing more minutes vs lesser competition, or playing less minutes against better competition, that is the question :). For a player like Backlund, it's kind of a coin flip in my opinion. I think there are pros and cons to both pathways of development.

"He has definitely cooled since the start of the year... He was giving the puck away a ton in the Minny game, it seemed like every pass he made was batted down or intercepted."

and so is Hal a Pena:

"a first rounder at 21 years old must be contributing to the offense,backlund does not meet this requirement. if you draft a center his primary role is to contribute to goal production. second thru fourth line centers can be obtained through free agency. a first line offensive leader is drafted with that mission,to score. playing third line minutes and then getting rewarded with icetime when the outcome has been determined can schew the boxscore.he should be an impact player."

Look, Backlund is a young player. he's shown that he can play a two way game and be defensively responsible. He's gonna make mistakes, he's going to take time.

But suggesting that we insert someone like Kotalik (who's a winger) or Jokinen in his place and delay his development? pisses me right off. Only Langkow should out Backlund and unfortunately that's looking less and less likely for Daymond.

I defend against the scapegoat use of Joker, but to suggest giving that P.O.S. or Moss(at centre) or Morrison the minutes Backlund deserves is infuriating. Especially when half the comments from Flames fans are trade now for the future. Then we'd have 3 or 4 or 5 Backlund-types. So how does THAT make sense?

I'm done. This isn't worth talking about.

@Citizen Flame. Ok, my Bad. I thought the "he" was referring back to Backlund.

@ B
I'm not shredding your line up because your guess is as good as anyone's probably B. Sutters included, but I just can't see Bourque being demoted to the third line. I know that Calgary isn't exactly running with a true 2nd & 3rd line, but just 2 weeks ago everyone was talking of Bourque replacing Iggy as the go-to guy. I think that Bourque has cemented his position in that spot, unless they move him to the other side.

That makes sense. It might be a show of faith in Backlund as well that they put Joker on the wing instead of moving him around. It might be a leap of faith that they believe he can carry Joker even against third line comp!

...I know what you are saying. The players on the second and third lines could be switched easily. There are two constants though.

1. Hagman with Jokinen

2. Glencross with Moss

...whatever line Borque is on, IMO, should recieve a few more minutes per game.

...I understand why there are some Kotalik haters out there, but :) he is big, has better puck control than Oli, and has a nice shot (plus he's good in the SO). He's really not as bad as some make him out to be.

Backlund is ten times more of a player now than at the start of the season and a big part of it is that he's putting the puck and himself into the ice cream cone (finally).

That should be a gigantic though pleasant surprise to all of us because most promising rookie forwards start out by impressing with their offensive creativity. And subsequently get hammered at other parts of the game until they work it out (or don't).

Backlund was the opposite, and thus was the opposite of "promising". Now he's not so bad.

Though I still wait for the other shoe to drop, it has been only 50 games.

to be honest I don't know that much about him. I never really paid any attention to him when he was playing elsewhere and only really know what I've read here at this site. Which obviously isn't very flattering. He looked good in preseason, but then that isn't much to base an opinion on.

I think that a lot of people have been hard on Stajan too but I don't think a lot of people take into consideration how much he has had to catch up from injuries and the amount of time he has missed so far. I think that he is also starting to hit his stride. I don't think that this is a coincidence that our centermen are starting to play stronger and the teams performance is improving.

"That's why I think it should be Jokinen OR Kotalik in and the other sits. Let the coaches decide. Screw what the fans or media say and how they'll bitch about the money.

Money doesn't buy you wins. We've proven that."

...I 100% agree that money alone doesn't buy you wins. However, I know he is our most promising prospect, but don't let that cloud your judgement. PROS, good defensively (+5), lots of shots (2nd on the team with 62), and very disciplined (only 6 PIMs). CONS, he has 5 points in 24 games playing either 2nd or 3rd line minutes, I don't know if he is out preforming Oli or will out preform Kotalik enough to keep him in the lineup. Getting tons of minutes in the AHL won't hinder his development. If that assumption were to be made it would be absolutely obsurd.

backlund is fine. he's geting chances he doesn't seem to show up whenever he wants to. he plays hard. i agree he should stay with the big club. he has been progressing every game. surely iggy wasn't the godsend his first full season either but he turned out to be wat he is today. everybody wants this team to win now but was detroit built in one day?

...I agree 99.9% with everything you said. It would not be a bad decision to keep Backlund in the lineup. However, with reference to your Detroit comment, the Red Wings are notorious for letting their prospects develop AWAY from the NHL and only then brining them to play when they are 100% ready. Backlund is only 21 years old. These Red Wings didn't play their first NHL season until later than Backlund: Franzen (26), Datsyuk (23), and Zetterberg (22). I'm not saying give up on Backlund, or that he is not playing well.

"The experiment of Jokinen/Backlund/Hagman may work. But Backlund will never score more than 10-12 goals at this level. He's not much more than Boyd was, and looks smallish in traffic. Still, Backlund had a decent evening. Agreed. And Joker hustled. Kotalik would be a nice fit with Jokinen and Hagman"

Note I didn't say he should be sent down. AHL minutes will not help him. Nor will they help Meyer. Both are ready, in my opinion.

So many went wild when Dawes was cut. What has he done to make this decision seem insane? Most were uspet when Boyd was dumped. He has 1 goal in 9 games with the Habs. That said, I think Boyd staying here may have produced 10-12 goals a season. On a third line. Maybe.

Perhaps I am a bit too harsh on Backlund here in print. I do like him, and hope he does better than 10-12 goals a season. He's seems a fun kid, a decent fellow, and has a lot of upside. I'll bet he's good in the dressing room which is important. But I think he's a third line NHLer. That's what I was getting at.

What they do with him, or anyone else, come Kotalik's return, is uncertain. What happens to Conroy? Meyer?? Ivanans, for that matter??? Someone's has to be moved.

@Lawrence - I agree with the roots of your fury and passion. I might not be as high on Baklund and some... But I like him, and think he needs to get a shot here.

Backlund is fine. He has played well enough to stay even though most of us were suggesting he start the year in Abbotsford. As to expectation, the last 10 centres drafted in the 20-25 slot averaged less than 10 goals and 16 assists in their 21 year old year.

I wouldn't personally cut Backlund...but some are raising good points here: he might get squeezed out via the numbers game. Im pretty sure he can still ale to bounce up and down between the NHL and WHL without passing through waivers. That might be the only option left for the club if they can't make a trade.

...I'd hate to part with Glencross (great 3rd line PK specialist), but he is an upcoming UFA, and we might be able to unload someone like Sarich in a package with him (and his big cap hit of 3.6 million in the last year of his contract upcoming next year).